I read the entirety of Lindsey Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco series and adored all 20 books. Long ago, I bought the debut novel in a spin-off series featuring Falco’s adopted daughter, a Britannia-born orphan named Flavia Albia. But I never read that Audible book. What a fool!

So I started the series with No. 12, Death on the Tiber. I know I would have enjoyed this book even more if I’d started at the beginning, but I was able to keep up and, as the novel is a five-star read anyway, I guess it doesn’t make a difference in the rating. Like her father, Flavia Albia works as an informer in Rome, year A.D. 90. A wisecracking, clever, cynical woman, she finagles an assignment to investigate the death of a fellow Briton woman who turns up death in the Tiber River while pursuing her deported husband. The assignment turns out to involve lots of twists and shocking surprises, some unsavory Roman gangsters and the usual lazy Roman authorities — just part of the fun. I can’t wait to go back and read the entire series, beginning with No. 1, The Ides of April.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
I'm a huge fan of the Flavia Albia series, and I look forward to any new instalment. It's interesting that the books seem to take place much closer together in time than the Falco series, but I think it portrays Flavia Albia's life very realistically.
This book deals with a death that could be accidental or not, and a lot of very complicated power struggles within the Roman 'mobs' that Flavia's been dealing with for most of her career. I prefer action to politics but still really enjoyed the story.
It's nice to see Falco and Lucius, but there are unsavoury characters from the past who show up as well.
As always, the portrayal of day to day life and family problems in ancient Rome is mesmerizing, and a big part of why I love Davis' books so much.
I hope that Flavia's life will get a bit simpler, and I'll look forward to finding out.
Recommend for fans of well written and detailed historical fiction, female protagonists and puzzles.

Death on the Tiber
Though I’m a long-time fan of the Falco series, I hadn’t yet read any of the novels with Falco’s daughter Flavia Albia as the main character. But before I was even at the end of the character list of Death on the Tiber, I had that happy feeling of being back among friends. Davis does not disappoint—this tale has plenty of slippery Roman criminals, sights and smells, humor and suspense, twists and surprises. Falco and Petronius put in an appearance too. Albia makes a convincing detective, and earns my respect by avoiding that pitfall of so many lesser fictional female sleuths—she doesn’t get into dangerous situations by being stupid. Nevertheless, she has to use all her courage and tenacity to crack this case in which she has a personal stake. And oh yes…watch out for the ostrich!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Death on the Tiber marks a complex and ambitious entry in the Flavia Albia series, but its execution may not satisfy every reader. Lindsey Davis takes Flavia Albia out of the familiar Aventine setting and into the midst of a chaotic mob turf war in Rome, a shift that brings both fresh intrigue and significant challenges.

The story begins with the discovery of Claudia Deiana's corpse in the Tiber. As a fellow Briton and the mistress of a notorious gangster, her death draws Albia into a personal and dangerous investigation. This setup promises a compelling narrative, especially with Albia's deep-seated history with the gangster involved. However, the plot quickly becomes tangled in the broader conflict among rival gangs, which, while intriguing, adds layers of complexity that can be overwhelming.

The novel is notably dense, with a sprawling cast of characters that stretches well into the triple digits. This vast array can make the story difficult to follow, especially for readers not well-versed in previous books in the series. The detailed backstory and numerous characters contribute to a slower pace, and the numerous subplots and descriptions sometimes feel excessive, leading to a somewhat drawn-out reading experience.

As a new readers who was not familiar with the series, I found the numerous references and callbacks confusing. Despite these issues, the novel does contain some humor and with Albia’s cynical and intelligent narration providing moments of levity amid the intricate plotting. The conclusion, however, still felt unsatisfactory and I had hoped for a more clear resolution.

In summary, Death on the Tiber offers a richly detailed and ambitious story but may prove challenging due to its complexity and pacing. It’s a worthwhile read for dedicated fans of the series but may not be the most accessible entry point for newcomers.

Informer Falco may have retired, but his adopted daughter Flavia Albia has followed in his footsteps. After a troubled childhood in Britain where she was seduced by Florius and put to work in his bordello, she was rescued by Falco. She is now married to Tiberius, a former official, and has become a well known informer. On an outing with Tiberius they discover that a body has been found floating in the river. It was a tourist from Britain who had been searching for her husband, a Roman businessman who had returned to Rome, abandoning her and their two children. With her hands bound, it is no question that it was murder. Flavia may have no client, but she is determined to investigate. She discovers that the husband is Florius, her nemesis, who is married into a criminal family. The death of a leading gangster leads to a power struggle with Florius in the middle. Flavia puts herself and her family in danger as she works to bring Florius down.

Lindsey Davis is always a delight to read. Her opening description of tourist season in early Rome could still be applied to the influx of tourists at present sites and had me laughing. While her story contains humor, it also portrays the limitations put on women and how little the life of a slave was valued. Flavia Albia is a strong character who has the support of her husband as she takes on investigations. There are a number of characters who will be familiar to readers of this series, including Falco and his family. Davis moves this mystery at a steady pace and includes a number of surprises along the way. This will leave you hoping that Lindsey Davis will soon return with the next Flavia Albia mystery. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s/Minotaur for providing this book.

My goodness this book is dark. What a bleak and violent time, with gangs controlling everything. The best part was Flavia Albia confronting the main villain for ruining half of her life. I hope she gets some kind of closure from it.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

A great addition to this masterful series. The writing is atmospheric and rich in historical detail, with a cleverly crafted plot. There are plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loves Her, Didn’t Kill Her — Doesn’t Love Her, Kills Her

Ten years earlier, Florius Oppicus left Rome to escape trial and banishment, leaving his wife to run his criminal gang. He builds another criminal empire in Britannica, living with Claudia Deiana and having four children with her. After a decade, he is arrested and sent back to Rome to face tax evasion charges. On a February day, Tiberius Manlius and Flavia Albia are walking near the wharf. Tiberius is searching for a marble column to restore the Temple to Hercules. They stumble upon a large dredger berthed at an ordinarily busy wharf. Next to the dredger is a flat-bottomed hopper barge used to collect the silt, which now contains the body of a woman. The vigiles are there, so Tiberius must investigate. From this discovery, another investigation by Albia begins.

This novel has one primary thread. It is mainly narrated by Albia, who had a previous unpleasant experience with Florius in Britannia. The story is set in a time of turmoil within the gangs of Rome. Old Rabirius, the criminal king of kings, had recently died. His son, who had been in self-exile, has returned. All the gangs were going to meet around Old Rabirius’s funeral to settle on new territorial boundaries among the gangs. While Albia believes Florius killed Deianna, she must untangle the gang relationships to find Florius. Another thorn hindering Albia’s investigation is Julius Karus, a favorite of Emperor Domitian, Karus’s undercover agent, Nicon, and Karus’s Varduloran Calvery. As Albia works to find Florius, she must interact with some of the worst of Rome and some powerful and dangerous matrons running their gangs for years. There are numerous twists and turns as Albia learns more. It is an easy and quick read for me. As with all her novels, my interest was locked quickly.

This novel provides some detailed information about Albia. Her character was introduced in the 2002 novel The Jupiter Myth. I only have a vague memory of that novel. There is much detail on Florius’s interaction with Albia in Britannia. The previous efforts of Falco and Petronius to bring Florius to justice are presented. I read The Jupiter Myth over twenty years ago, so I do not remember much, but I enjoyed the deep dive into that aspect of the novel and how it is used to introduce some plot twists. As with all the Falco and Albia series, a rich underlying family story runs through this novel as it does through all the novels.

Most anyone can read this novel. This is set in ancient Rome, and some morals are different. There are no intimate scenes, but some references are present. This novel is very clean of vulgar and rude words. There is some violence, but compared to the usual violence in police procedures, it is tame. I read this novel on my e-reader. The author uses many British terms, many words no longer in regular use, and some Roman terms to give the feel of being in ancient Rome. I had to use the Internet access regularly while reading. I have read the entire Falco and Flavia Albia series. There are references to earlier novels. Anything that affects this novel was adequately filled. Again, you can start with this novel as the first novel by Lindsey Davis.

The aspect of this novel that may cause some readers distress is the large cast of characters. I used the Colorful Characters sections quite often. I like that Falco has his first significant role since the start of the Albia series. I was surprised by the ending but came around to like it. I have read 34 of her books. She is at the top of my list of Must-Read authors. If an ancient Roman gumshoe novel interests you, this novel is an excellent choice to read. I rate this novel with five stars.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Minotaur Press. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this book. Thank you, Minotaur Press, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Death on the Tiber is book 12 in the Flavia Albia Mystery series by Lindsey Davis.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.
An exciting story that keeps going at a breathtaking speed with a central character that will certainly hold your interest.
The vivid settings, wonderfully twisted puzzles, great characters and a nice helping of humor I enjoyed this one a lot more than I originally thought I would.

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for access to this arc.

Past, present, and (maybe from something near the end) future collide here as Albia’s past haunts her and Rome appears in danger of being torn apart from both vicious gangs and the LEOs charged with “keeping the peace.”

Albia soon realizes that the murdered woman’s death is just the kick off point in the massive shakeout going on among Roman ruffians jockeying for position and power. But she still wants to discover why the murdered woman traveled from Britain to Rome searching for a man whom several of the Didius clan as well as Uncle Petro loathe. Also who killed her, or had her killed, and why?

Some of the characters have been in previous books – and were just as scary then as now. There are times when Albia is in the homes of some of these people and drilling them with questions when I thought “Albia is either a woman with ovaries of steel or one who needs her head examined.”

The law enforcement officials are also scary as we’ve heard much over the years and books about Albia’s thoughts on the vigiles (useless thugs), the Urban Cohorts (brutal bastards), and the truly scary Castra Peregrina secret spies that nobody wants to talk about. Good thing Albia’s tough father Falco trained her to not only be a good investigator but also strong enough to stand up to these men.

Albia also has to face something from her past in Britain. She survived it but it still has some power over her as does the memory of the man who did it. For Albia, this case is personal. I’m still thinking about her choices but I appreciate that she made the choices and she is at peace with them. Yay that she has a strong and loving family surrounding her ready to defend her and see justice done for her but she ultimately calls the shots. The last scene, whoa. I wasn’t expecting that.

I loved seeing so much of Faustus, Falco and Petro and it reminds me that someday I need to go back and finish the back half of the Falco books but for now, I’m looking forward to what Albia and Faustus will get up to next. B

Flavia Albia can be just as snarky as Falco

Sometimes I feel as if I’ve been hitting life’s milestones right along with Lindsey Davis’ original “informer”, Marcus Didius Falco, who seemed to be about the same age as I was when I first started reading that series. And now Falco has a daughter, Flavia Albia, who has grown up and launched, with her own series – on roughly on the same timeline as my own son. Who does not, however, have his own series! But it all still feels quite familiar: the snarkiness of the youngsters about the oldsters (“’Face it’, said Father, like the realist he had never been.”), the toddlers (“We had a small crisis when Gaius claimed that Lucius had swallowed the slingshot.”), the excellent communications between husband and wife (Flavia Albia’s list of “Points the most excellent Tiberius Manlius Faustus has unaccountably missed”)…

So reading the latest Flavia Albia mystery, Death on the Tiber, was quite comfortable in many ways: a suitably puzzling plot; snapshots of life in ancient Rome; moments of snorting laughter; and cameos by Falco, Helena Justina, Petro, and others. Yet it was also challenging in other (good) ways. Flavia Albia has more of a connection to the victim than usual, and her growth throughout the book as she deals with this, especially during the denouement, was rewarding to watch. (Apologies for the opacity – I’m trying to avoid a big spoiler…) And finally, Davis’ writing is as sharp as ever. So all-in-all, Death in the Tiber is another entry in the series that is well worth reading.

And my thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

I tried so hard to get into this one, but I made it about 40% and decided to DNF. I thought the premise of a cozy mystery set in Ancient Rome was unique. Flavia was a smart, sassy, and interesting character. I liked the way she investigated things and used men’s perceptions of her against them. Unfortunately, the story just felt so wordy and overly detailed and there were so many characters to keep track of. The plot didn’t feel like it had a linear pattern which was hard to follow. Also, as this one is apart of a series, so I feel like I was missing some context when it came to Flavia relationships with the other characters in the book.

Fans of this long running series will be pleased that we now know more about Flavia's back story- about how the villain mobster Florious used and abused her when she was an urchin- and also that she finally has a chance to return the favor in not quite the same way. New readers should know that is a complex and twisty novel that, while set in ancient Rome, has themes and characters that are universal. Flavia and her husband Tiberius have been raising their adopted family and living relatively quietly but they are present when the body of a woman-of a woman who was married to Florious-is pulled from the Tiber and so find themselves investigating. There are good atmospherics, you'll learn a bit about ancient Roman culture, and you'll be fully engaged. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lindsey Davis for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Death on the Tiber coming out July 23, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

To be honest, I just wanted to read this book because of the Ancient Rome murder mystery plot. I have not read the other books in the series, so I definitely need to go back and read those. I had the opportunity to visit Rome and the Tiber River, so I’m definitely obsessed with Rome. I thought this book was really well written. I loved all of the suspense and mystery. I think Flavia is a strong and smart character. I’m sure by now she’s been solving a lot of cases. It felt like a cozy mystery with historical facts. So I think this book had a lot to offer to people with an interest in history.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about Ancient Rome!

It’s been a while since I reviewed Lindsey Davis’ first novel set in Ancient Rome, The Silver Pigs, and though I have read the following two books in my own time, we haven’t formally discussed the series on this blog in two years. It may have been nice to read all her novels over the course of a decade, but I had the opportunity to receive an Advanced Reading Copy of Davis’ latest novel Death on the Tiber and took it. Falco is long-retired, and his adopted daughter Flavia has taken over the “family business,” so to speak. The only major spoilers to any other novel in the series is that Flavia is married (to whom I won’t say in case others may want to read from the beginning), and the backstory of one of the initial suspects behind the murder, but otherwise it’s digestible in its form as an individual novel.

One aspect of the dearth of novels in the “feminist mythological retellings” genre that we did not get to address in my coverage of the controversy is that ancient women were not allowed to take on more prominent jobs than men in most cases, so there aren’t as many opportunities to write plausible scenarios in the broader genre of historical fiction. Other authors choose to set their novels with female protagonists (like Eleanor Kuhns, whose book we reviewed last month) in the stone or bronze ages, when the role of women was not wholly subordinate to men. Flavia is in all respects behind the eight ball when it comes to Roman society; she’s young, a woman, a foreigner by birth, and though she enjoys certain privileges of her status, she’s hardly an aristocrat. The reader ought to expect that no citizen would take such a character seriously in that society, and yet, Davis makes the characterization work through a combination of wit and charisma, along with her husband’s title and Falco’s established connections throughout the city and beyond.

Having a female protagonist is not enough to consider a novel “feminist,” however. The real reason I give that label to this book is because of the crime central to the plot. Flavia narrates the plot with the benefit of hindsight just like her father, and even she remarks how the victim and her are joined in a certain kind of sisterhood. Early on, it’s revealed that the number one suspect in the case is guilty of committing an even more grievous crime in the eyes of the Roman bureaucratic state than murdering a woman: tax evasion. The social mores of the period disincentivize the vigiles in charge of the investigation from looking too deeply into the matter; in fact, Flavia comes to learn that if it turned out that the suspect had not committed the crime, then the investigators would lose their excuse to detain him and find evidence of his tax cheating. Under different circumstances it would have been interesting to remove the clear and well-deserved moral outrage from our protagonist at this revelation, but Davis does well with the situation she’s presented. It is both true that Romans cared deeply about their tax revenue and little for the lives of women, especially foreign women, and it’s easy to imagine similar scenarios playing out a dozen or so times across the lifespan of the empire. Furthermore, information that would have typically been fair game for her to ask about is withheld because of particular details of the case. Some of this can be explained by her relationship to the people involved, but only in the “ideal/just” scenario. In ever-corruptible Roman terms, Falco could’ve easily prised this information free despite (and perhaps even because of) similar relationships.

All in all I enjoyed the experience of reading this novel for what it was. I may have missed out on some surprises in the later books in regards to certain characters’ fates, but I generally don’t read mysteries for character development in that way. I’m glad I had this opportunity fall into my lap, and if I had to do it all over, I’d choose this path again. Calling Falco “stale” would be unfair considering how little time I actually spent with the character, but in that first novel he’s around the same age Flavia is now by my recollection. By the time I had stopped reading, the audience would’ve had a pretty good idea of who he was going forward. Flavia, on the other hand, has had time to mature in front of the reader’s eyes and evidently still has developments to make. A major aspect of this novel deals with how Flavia is able to approach past trauma whose wounds she believes have developed into scars long ago. In a sense, it’s a trial by fire to determine whether she is able to keep a cool, level head around people who have caused her pain while still maintaining objectivity towards all the suspects. Two stars.

Flavia Alba is a private inquiry agent in 1st Century Rome who has seen her share of dark deeds. When the body of a young woman visiting from Britain washes up in the Tiber River, it’s clear that it’s not suicide, and Flavia feels compelled to find out why she was killed. Especially when she finds out the woman is connected to her nemesis from her own young days and troubled past in Britain. But solving this murder will put her in the midst of a turf war between rival gangs.

Death on the Tiber is the latest in an ongoing historical mystery series with an unflappable lead character and a story that unfolds through her distinctive, charismatic point of view. While readers of the series will enjoy this book, it may be a little dense for someone new to the ongoing storyline and setting. There are a lot of characters, new and old, to keep up with in the narrative. Having a dictionary handy is imperative as there are many words that the average reader will need to look up. However, history buffs will enjoy this view of ancient Rome through the eyes of a female character. There are some very dark moments and somewhat shocking violence, yet overall, there is something almost cozy about Flavia’s first person narrative and her snarky sense of humor, along with the quirky secondary characters. The conclusion does drag slightly and is not wholly satisfying, but overall, this is an engaging read for mystery fans who want their intellect challenged by a setting that is far removed from readers’ modern sensibilities.

A well written and engaging historical mystery set in the Early Roman Empire. This writer never disappoints!!

It was okay. The book while 360ish pages seemed to drag for a lot longer. I almost DNF but wanted to give it a shot since I love historical fiction that is placed at different points in history rather than the usual WWII era. I have never read this author nor other books in the series and it was readable, a bit confusing in the beginning from all the characters and how some use the formal name vs the casual name vs nickname but it was easy to catch up. As someone unfamiliar with ancient Rome landscape the locations are expected to be known and it was a bit hard to create a visual of the setting.
The tone of this book jumped around a bit but mostly hovered on contemporary. Lots of latin words, some were explained while others were not. Found quite a bit of vocabulary words I had not heard of before and some terms are distinctly British spellings which is where the author is from. Time jumps around a lot without clear delineation minus a line or two to clarify when something has shifted.
The thrill comes more toward the end with the beginning 2/3 a slow build up to the resolution of the thriller. Overall I did enjoy finishing the book, it gave a unique perspective on upper middle class society in Rome and how women such as Flavia got away with being a bit out of line for her position in society. Some threads set from the beginning are neatly raveled up some are left open for other books but I was satisfied with the ending.

Flavia Albia has built a good life for herself. She is happily married to Manlius and they are fostering a couple of kids and teaming up to solve a case here and there. Then a woman is found dead in the Tiber, and she is found to have ties to Florius, the man who took advantage of Albia's impoverished childhood and sexually assaulted her.

Albia has waited a long time to get her revenge on Florius, and it looks like she might just get the chance to pay him back - but at what cost?

I loved this installment, not just for a resolution to this long-time trauma for Albia, but also because we see Papa Falco and Petronius, and that ending was *chef's kiss* - I am grateful to have gotten the chance to preview this book and will be waiting (not so) patiently for the next one.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I’ve been following the Flavia Albia Roman mystery series since Book 1, The Ides of April. And before that, I read all of Lindsey Davis’ Falco series. So I was eager to read the latest, Death on the Tiber. While the mystery is very clearly Albia’s to solve, Falco and his friend Petronius Longus jump in to help – and it is a delight to meet up with them again.

The tale begins when the corpse of a woman is dredged up from the Tiber, and identified as Claudia Deiana, from Britain. She was the mistress of a well-known Roman gangster named Florius. Albia is determined to find out why the woman had come to Rome. And why she was killed. Albia feels a sense of duty to the unfortunate victim because she, too, originally came from Britain. Moreover, she knew Florius. He ran a crime ring in Londinium, centered on brothels. When Albia was a young orphan, he trapped her, raped her, and tried to install her in one of the brothels. Fortunately for Albia, she was rescued by Falco, adopted, and brought to Rome. Florius is back in Rome, and Albia has a score to settle.

The novel starts slowly as the backstory is established. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, most of whom were seen in previous books, so it does all fall into place. A list of the cast is given at the beginning of the story to help. It’s probably best to have read earlier books to get the full impact of this one.

The mystery of the dead woman is just a small part of the story. Albia finds herself back investigating the dangerous gangs warring for primacy in Rome. One of the main patriarchs has just died, so there is a good deal of jockeying for power (think The Godfather), and all this violence muddies the waters.

Albia is supported by her father (Falco), her uncle (Petronius), her long-suffering husband (Tiberius), and some high-up muckety-muck who appears in deus-ex-machina style to help her sort things out. I feel like this guy must have figured in one of the previous books, but couldn’t place him – one of the disadvantages of having so many characters to keep track of over so many books. For me, the story would have been more satisfying without this secret character. He goes only by a pseudonym, Titus, and his position, Princeps Peregrinorum, and it was a bit frustrating to have them chat so coyly together and not be able to place who he was and why he and Albia were so cozy. Other longtime fans will likely have a better memory than me.

Albia does her usual grand job of gathering information, working in tandem with the authorities, and chasing down her suspects. Her voice, cynical, snarky, intelligent, funny, and at times, loving, make it fun to follow her along as she investigates.